"There’s no escape..."

"Then I won’t run anymore."

Boger’s appearance made Sean realize one thing: the people he interacted with might have never been acting as mere "individuals." His social circle had always been small. Every day was just working on his novel, eating, and sleeping, with the occasional trip to the gym when he felt like it. If they wanted to, they could easily insert themselves into his social network and trap him in the center without him even realizing it.

His enthusiastic female neighbor next door was probably one of them, too.

At that moment, Sean gained a more direct understanding of "them."

The power behind the Witch Hunt Operation was terrifyingly strong—it might even be "Power" itself.

The thought that he was under their watch at all times, that all the familiar faces around him were two-faced, sent a chill down Sean’s spine. He even began to suspect that the very idea to write his novel had been a result of their subtle suggestions and influence.

The air grew heavy and oppressive once again.

This leaden feeling of being watched, of having his life forcibly manipulated, was suffocating enough to crush a person.

But instead, Sean calmed down.

He could feel them starting to apply pressure.

Too bad for them, he wasn’t a fragile person.

A fragile person couldn’t write a novel anyway.

Pressure wouldn’t break him. It would only lower his moral boundaries.

Sean had never believed in the concept of "no way out."

He preferred the words of the poet Mayakovsky: "When someone has forced you to a dead end, don’t forget there is still a road behind you."

The maiden had warned him that "their" bottom line was "Magic Power."

The moment he became a true Wizard, they would make their move on him immediately.

It could be a forceful capture, like what happened to Chris.

Or it could be an on-the-spot execution.

Low-tier Wizards couldn’t fight the weapons they carried. To become a Wizard while already under surveillance was tantamount to suicide.

But he was different.

He was the "author" of this bizarre, fantastical world. He knew countless details and settings from the story, including "Basic Mysticism Theory," "Tier Advancement Paths," "Methods of Cultivating Magic Power," and "The Principles of How Magic Works," among others. These were all things a writer had to sort out before officially starting to create.

Each of these settings had its own document, saved in a folder named "World Architecture."

Sean wasn’t sure if Boger had cracked his computer password and copied the files, nor was he sure how many hidden cameras had been installed in his home. To be safe, he didn’t open the documents again. He remembered it all anyway.

Magic Power is a product of "Meditation." Its essence is a form of energy.

To be more specific, it is energy converted from what is commonly understood as mass.

It originates from the human body itself.

And this process of converting the mass of one’s cells into energy is called "Meditation."

The human body is active, constantly transferring energy. When the energy required to support basic bodily functions is insufficient, the cells will automatically generate energy to maintain the normal operation of physiological systems. In *Modern Biology*, this is called "autophagy." Meditation allows a person to capture this process and form a concrete image of it in their mind.

The energy produced by autophagy alone is obviously not enough to cast Magic. One must attempt to actively intervene, using the brain to finely control the body, change the way cells devour one another, and increase the efficiency of mass-energy conversion. This allows the same amount of mass to be converted into more energy. Only the portion that exceeds the body’s needs can be called "Magic Power." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

That was why a Mystic Scholar in his book once said, "The human body is a natural container for Magic Power. Everyone has the potential to become a Mage."

Back then, Wizards weren’t called Wizards, but "honorable Mages."

That was the Era of Polymath, when knowledge was power.

A few Grand Mages who had mastered Forbidden Spells could even increase their mass-energy conversion rate to 100%—a perfect annihilation reaction of their entire being—generating enough destructive force to obliterate a nation.

Like the protagonist of his book, Carl Black.

Perhaps this was also the reason the Witch Hunt Operation began.

They were afraid.

In *Basic Mysticism*, the unit of measurement for Magic Power was named after the Mystic Scholar who first publicly proposed the concept that "all things can be annihilated." It was initially called a "Dick," but after discovering an unfortunate homophone, it was changed to a "Lak." This unit was used to classify the Levels of Wizards from a relatively macro perspective.

A Tier One Wizard was called a "Newborn" and wielded 1 Lak of Magic Power, with an energy intensity roughly equivalent to a small hand grenade. Therefore, in theory, a Tier One Wizard could already block bullets from ordinary firearms.

But practical combat was always different from theory.

The speed of a bullet far exceeds human reaction time. By the time an enemy fired, it would be too late to chant a Spell and cast Magic. If you were unlucky enough to be hit, your frail body would instantly lose all motor function. The cavity effect would tear through your flesh and numb your nerves, and blood would quickly flood your throat, leaving you unable to speak even if you opened your mouth.

This meant that the vast majority of Tier One Wizards couldn’t even take their gun-wielding enemies down with them.

They couldn’t even finish chanting a single Spell.

However, there was a type of Magic that required no chanting.

It existed based on the most fundamental operating rules and physical laws of the world, deeply integrating mathematics, physics, and philosophy. It required no Spells to guide it. A mere thought could trigger a resonance, directly manifesting Magic Power in a form completely incomprehensible to others. It was distinct from other forms of Magic and had a special name—

The Truth Technique.

This was something his "past life" self had hidden for a very, very long time, and something his current self had also kept hidden for a very, very long time. As a bestselling author, Sean of course understood the need to give his protagonist some secret trump cards to create twists in the story.

In Sean’s original plot, after his epic, soul-stirring romance with Olivia, a great battle was set to unfold.

This was because he had run off with the Church Court’s Saintess.

From the faithful to the Pope, the entire Church Court opposed their union. He would have to persuade them with reason, planning to reveal his true power over the next ten or so Chapters.

The Truth Technique was his trump card.

Now, it had become *his* trump card.

Sean felt that he would probably use it before his in-book counterpart.

A plan was already forming in his mind.

’So these guys like to watch me, huh?’

Whether it was Quill representing Florist Hospital, Boger at the police department, or some other organization—as soon as he left Holkaydo, they would almost certainly send people to tail him, to prevent him from "fleeing from justice."

Sean’s eyes narrowed.

He planned to prepare a little surprise for them.

All he needed was a tiny bit of Magic Power. Tier One would be enough.

Every bullet fired at him would ultimately become the weapon he used to kill his enemies.

According to the Flame Crow Maiden, his awakening was insufficient, so he hadn’t obtained Magic Power. Sean interpreted "insufficient awakening" as a lack of Talent, meaning he hadn’t automatically learned Meditation. That was why the maiden believed he didn’t have what it took to be a Wizard right now.

But that was fine. He could go find the "Spring of Enlightenment."

This was a natural spring that allowed people to comprehend Mysticism, also known as the "Spring of Knowledge." In Sean’s story, this water, so clear it was free of any impurity, had helped countless simpletons enter a state of Meditation and become Wizards. For a time, it was even revered as Holy Water bestowed upon the Empire by the Gods, until its title was later replaced by the even more wondrous "Spring of Asceticism."

For important items like this, Sean had also created a special table for easy memorization, with the Spring of Enlightenment ranked first. This was because his dream self had also relied on the Spring of Enlightenment to first come into contact with the world’s Mysticism, which led to the creation of the Truth Technique that surpassed all Magic of the same tier.

If his past-life self could walk that path, so could his current self.

The only difficulty was probably where to find the Spring of Enlightenment.

If it weren’t for Chris, Sean might never have believed the Spring of Enlightenment truly existed in this life. It was Chris who had reminded him—that small grove of trees Chris had once visited, where he had witnessed all sorts of magical events with his own eyes.

Having calmed down, Sean’s line of thought was crystal clear.

Chris only realized something was wrong with the world after seeing things described in his book. This meant Chris wasn’t an Awakened, so he couldn’t have learned Meditation out of thin air. Therefore, the Magic Power Chris had shown him—the power used to harden milk—could only have come from the Spring of Enlightenment.

Thanks to Quill, his old friend could no longer speak, so he couldn’t tell him the exact location.

But he could ask someone else.

Chris always went on his expeditions with a group. He was a member of a wilderness survival club, and Sean had even called the club to check on him when Chris was out of contact for a long time.

At the time, he had only been concerned about whether Chris had returned. After getting an affirmative answer, he had hung up without asking about the specific destination of Chris’s group.

But these kinds of expeditions were high-risk activities. The routes were usually planned in advance and backed up with the club, so if anything went wrong, the club could promptly contact nearby rescue teams to help.

In other words, the club would definitely know where Chris had gone two years ago.

...